The One That Got Away (15 page)

‘No.’

‘Yes. You know exactly how it’s done. And it’s your turn now.
You won’t be able to stop yourself.’

‘I will.’

And Evie steeled her nerves and stepped up into his space, in
his face, and pushed him some more. ‘You sure about that?’

‘I am
not
my father’s son, do you
hear me?’ roared Logan. ‘No matter what you do, no matter how much you disagree
with me, I will never,
ever
raise my hand to you in
anger.’

‘I know.’ Evie reached for him, one hand to the base of his
neck and the other hand to his back, hugging him hard and waiting, waiting for
what seemed like for ever before his arms came around her and tightened. ‘I
know,’ she whispered against his neck. ‘I’ve always known. I just wasn’t sure
you
knew.’

She felt the tremors in him as his arms tightened around her.
‘Well, I sure as hell know
now
.’

‘That was kind of the point.’

‘Hell, Evie.’ Even Max sounded thoroughly shaken. ‘Couldn’t you
have just asked?’

‘Been there, done that.’ Evie held Logan tighter and felt the
beat of his heart against the thundering of her own. ‘Didn’t work.’

* * *

Logan
rescued the steaks, Max put the food on
the plates and they took them through to the dining room. The music still played
soft and mellow, but the mellow mood was gone and Evie didn’t think it was about
to reappear any time soon.

She needed the reassurance of Logan’s touch but there was food
to be eaten and jobs to discuss, so Evie contented herself with tangling her
legs around Logan’s beneath the table and taking from that what comfort she
could.

‘So...’ said Logan, with a half-smile for Evie and a level
glance for his brother. ‘How serious are you about this job in PNG?’

‘I’m serious about Kit,’ said Max with a wary glance in Logan’s
direction. ‘Don’t particularly think we need the job. It’s a government offices
refurb job. Sounds simple. Profitable. But I’m absolutely aware that it could be
a mess and that the last thing we want to do is tie up our resources.’

‘I can make some enquiries,’ offered Logan. ‘Put you in touch
with some people who do business there. They can run through some of the
challenges with you. It’ll help.’

‘Evie?’ said Max. ‘What do you say?’

‘Truthfully, I don’t see much in it for us. It’s maintenance
work. There’s no status in it, just the headaches that come with having to fix
other people’s mistakes and a distant and sometimes dangerous work location.
We’re not that desperate for money.’

‘We owe Logan ten million dollars, Evie.’

‘No, Logan’s ten million dollars is sitting in MEP’s bank
account and he’ll get it back the minute the civic centre build is out of the
ground. There’s a difference. Besides, in two years’ time when your trust fund
turns over you won’t be worried about money at all.’ Evie eyed Max steadily,
looking for a reaction and finding it in the tiny frown that framed her business
partner’s eyes. ‘You asked for my opinion and I’m giving it. This PNG job sounds
like stress we don’t need. However...I do understand that it’s not always about
money or prestige. There’s the working with Kit factor. Covering his back so
that he stays safe and gets in and out with minimum fuss. That’s a factor I
don’t know how to weigh up.’

‘Some people might say that’s not a factor I should be bringing
to the business table,’ said Max.

‘Not me.’

‘You sure?’

‘Max, you’ve been working around my emotional baggage, and
Logan’s, for months. It’s affected my work. MEP’s finances. Your relationship
with your family. I think I can cut you some slack.’ Evie rolled her eyes. Even
Logan looked amused, and wasn’t that a welcome sight? ‘It’s entirely possible
that part of the appeal of working in PNG is that you’d be getting
away
from me,’ she continued

‘What? And miss all this?’ Max smiled, wide and warm and this
time so did Logan.

‘Get Kit to call me,’ said Logan. ‘I can help.’

Max nodded and more food got eaten. Not exactly smooth sailing
here tonight and it probably never would be—not with Logan in the mix—but they
were making progress. Logan had put his demons on leash and brought them to heel
for her. Hard not to get a little breathless about that. ‘We good?’ she asked
him quietly.

‘Yeah.’ Logan’s gaze slid to her mouth and need flared fierce
and bright inside her.

They’d argued and made up. Surely there was still room for
crazy hot make-up sex in there somewhere. Because she wanted her hands on him,
skin on skin, she needed his touch and—

‘Stop it,’ said Max firmly, and waved a bread and butter plate
in front of Evie’s face. ‘Evie, stop looking at him like that. Don’t encourage
him. Logan doesn’t
need
any encouragement in that
direction.’

‘Not that it hurts,’ said Logan and the rough need in his voice
made Evie altogether twitchy deep down inside.

‘Don’t look at her.’ Max turned to his brother. ‘Eyes on the
plate. This is a family meal we’re having here and I for one want to keep my
appetite.’

‘Food. Yes.’ Right. Evie took the plate, wrenched herself out
of devouring-Logan-land and schooled her features to reflect what she hoped was
baffled innocence. ‘Really, Max. It was only a little look. Slightly
appreciative.’

‘Highly inflammatory,’ corrected Max. ‘Let’s have a toast.’

‘To fires?’

‘To family,’ said Max. ‘And it isn’t just about blood.’ They
drank to that and Max gave them another one. ‘To my mother’s speedy recovery and
good health.’ They drank to that, too. ‘And to my brother.’

‘What for?’ asked Logan gruffly.

‘For being you,’ said Max, and they drank to that, too, sat in
the small dining room at a table meant for four and Max started talking about
speedboats on Sydney harbour and Logan relaxed and his smiles came warm and
easy. How many people saw this side of Logan? The unguarded heart and the tumble
of generosity.

Not many.

Safe, thought Evie, grasping at the edges of her understanding
of this man. Logan felt safe here with his brother and with her.

They made it an early night. Half ten when they headed for bed,
Evie having made herself at home in Logan’s bedroom days ago, hanging clothes in
his cloakroom and putting her toothbrush next to his.

He hadn’t complained.

It had become almost a ritual, this act of showering and
putting night clothes on just so Logan could peel them off.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees and
his hands crossed loosely in front of him, when Evie emerged from the bathroom.
He watched in silence as she headed his way.

‘I’m sorry about today,’ he offered when she was close enough
to touch him and touch him she did, running her hand through the silky softness
of his hair and tilting his head back, ever so gently. ‘I lost my way.’

‘No harm done,’ she murmured and slid her hand to his face next
and dragged the pad of her thumb across his full lower lip. ‘A power of good
done and you need to know that I won’t ever do that to you again. I had a point
to make and I’ve made it. I know what you are, Logan. I know what you’re not. I
can handle you, everything about you. And you can handle me.’

‘Blind crazy about you, Evie,’ he said raggedly.

‘Right back at you.’

Logan reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist and
dragging her between his legs. Evie closed her eyes and let out a gasp as he
turned his head slightly and pressed his lips into the base of her palm and then
his tongue streaked out and skittered against her wrist.

The man was an expert at making her lose her way.

Evie tipped forward, knowing that if Logan hadn’t wanted to go
down on his back he wouldn’t have. He wouldn’t have let her look her fill if he
hadn’t liked her eyes on him. And then she wound her fingers through his and
pinned his hands above his head and pressed whisper-light kisses from the corner
of his eye to the edge of his lips before tasting him with her tongue.

She wanted to take her time. Render him aching and pliant and
hers
. Teasing kisses made way for longer play.
Drugging kisses that left his lips shiny and swollen and then she moved on to
his neck and felt a swift surge of satisfaction when he tilted his head to allow
her better access.

If this man had a weakness it was touch. He shuddered beneath
it, and every now and then—in mildest measure—she served it up with a nip of
pain, and, oh, he liked that. He came undone on that.

‘I’ve got you,’ she whispered more than once, and watched his
lips part and hot colour stain his cheeks. ‘Watching out for you.’ With every
whispered word and knowing touch, Evie unravelled him just that little bit
more.

‘I love you,’ she whispered against his lips as she straddled
him and took him deep inside and he closed his eyes and let her lead the
way.

ELEVEN

‘Stay,’ murmured Logan the following morning as Evie
packed her travel bag in readiness for her flight to Sydney. The bag sat on the
end of Logan’s bed. Logan was still in the bed, sleep-softened and way too
appealing for his own good. He’d surrendered so completely to her last night and
Evie had taken the sweetest satisfaction in getting him completely and utterly
lost to everything but sensation before bringing him home. She knew this game,
knew how to wield the power he’d given her. She’d been taught by a master.

This morning, however, the balance of who led and who followed
was shifting between them again.

‘I can’t stay,’ she answered lightly. ‘Max is staying and
someone needs to get back to run MEP and that someone is me.’

Evie didn’t want to argue about this. She wasn’t about to
change her mind. They’d already argued about Evie taking a taxi to the airport
and Evie had won. There was no need for Logan to drive her to the airport. The
man could use the sleep.

‘Stay anyway.’ There was no mistaking the rawness in his voice
and it made Evie pause in her packing. Some of that rawness could be attributed
to the intensity of last night’s lovemaking, but not all. Maybe he was scared of
being left alone.

But he wouldn’t be alone.

‘You’re going to be busy too.’ Evie abandoned the messy tossing
of clothes into her case in favour of crawling across the bed and kneeling at
Logan’s side. She stroked the pale skin of his inner forearm with her fingertips
and felt him relax ever so slightly. She brought his hand up, pressed her lips
to his knuckles and felt him relax just that little bit more. ‘Bringing your
mother home. Getting her settled. She’s not going to want a stranger in her home
and you’ve got all sorts of family stuff to decide. I’m not a part of that
process. That one’s all yours and you’ll be fine. You’ll all be fine. The
decisions you make will be good ones. You’ll see.’

Logan clasped her hand in his and sat up, nudging her shoulder
with his when he drew level with her. ‘The decisions this family makes about the
future are going to affect you too, Evie. You and me. Your work and Max’s. You
could
stay. Be a part of the decision
making.’

But Evie didn’t want to be. ‘I’m not very good at family stuff,
Logan. I barely make contact with my own.’

‘Any particular reason why?’

‘No. My family’s just...scattered. There’s bits of it
everywhere and I’m not anyone’s priority. It’s easier if I stay away.’

‘You’re
my
priority,’ he said with
another bump for her shoulder, drawing her gaze and keeping it. ‘If I come back
to Australia I want to base my work in Sydney. Live in Sydney. Because of you.
You said you wanted more from me, but I don’t know how to measure it. I just
know that if you let me I’ll take everything you have to give. I’m greedy like
that. So I’m asking you now—before I put plans in motion that affect other
people—whether you want me living in Sydney and demanding more of your time and
everything else.’

‘Yes.’ Gut response, well in advance of rational thought. ‘Yes,
I’d like that. Didn’t you get a ranty phone call from me demanding more of
you?’

‘Yes, but that was before you
had
me, 24/7. Maybe you’ve changed your mind.’

‘I haven’t changed my mind.’

‘You sure?’

‘Positive.’

Logan’s expression moved from searchingly intent to boyishly
pleased in an instant. He threw back the sheet, scrambled out of bed and headed
stark naked for the en suite. Nothing boyish about the play of muscles in his
back, though, or the tight globes of his buttocks. Evie tilted her head the
better to appreciate the view. ‘Why aren’t you going back to sleep?’ she called
after him.

‘Why would I be doing that?’ The sound of the shower running
followed soon after. ‘When I’m taking you to the airport.’

* * *

Life
and Logan treated Evie exceptionally well
over the next few weeks. Logan’s mother came home and pressed charges and began
to mend. More weeks passed, weeks that turned into months as Logan relocated his
business to Sydney, kept his Perth office running, and treated flying to
Melbourne to see his mother as if it were no more onerous than stepping on a
bus. Different mindset from Evie’s. When money was no object a lot of things
could happen with speed and relative ease.

A short-term lease on a fully furnished inner-city penthouse
apartment for Logan. A lease on the apartment across the hall for his mother and
Caroline began to travel to Sydney for a couple of days each week instead of her
boys travelling to Melbourne to be with her.

It had been years since a female figure had played any more
than a token role in Evie’s life, but Caroline Carmichael seemed determined to
fix that, inviting Evie to lunches and brunches and shopping—oh, the
clothes
Logan’s mother could afford. Elegant and
flattering. Evie had discovered a brand-new obsession. Two pieces she bought for
herself, with Caroline giving them the Carmichael seal of approval, and after
that she had to stop, because that was her treat for the year and she couldn’t
afford more. She wouldn’t let Caroline buy more for her either, no matter how
often the older woman offered to.

‘Shopping with your mother feeds my fascination for how some
women can pull separate pieces of clothing together to create a look that makes
mere mortals sigh with envy,’ said Evie one evening when they were at Caroline’s
apartment and Logan had asked Evie how the late-night shopping trip had
gone.

‘Enrique’s got sales on as of next Wednesday,’ Caroline
murmured dulcetly. ‘He told me in strictest confidence. Half price. We should at
least go and have a look for a coat for you. You’re going to need one out on
site.’

‘She has a coat for when she’s on site,’ argued Max, for he was
at his mother’s place too.

‘He’s right,’ said Evie. ‘It’s dark blue and puffy, with
fluorescent yellow stripes. Goes with the hard hat.’ Evie grinned as Caroline
shuddered. ‘I’ll model it for you tomorrow when you come to visit the civic
centre site. I might even be able to rustle up a hard hat for you too.’

‘Why are you visiting the civic centre site?’ Max asked his
mother. ‘We’ve barely started the foundation work. It’s just a hole in the
ground.’

‘Architects,’ teased Evie. ‘They’re all about the frills.
Absolutely no regard for the achievements along the way. Trust me, Caroline.
This is a beautiful hole in the ground.’

‘And you’re going to admire it why?’ Logan asked his
mother.

‘I want to see what Evangeline does,’ said his mother. ‘Besides
keep you two in check.’

‘That is a full-time job in and of itself,’ said Evie with a
hard-put-upon sigh. ‘Did you hear that Logan’s now looking for a house with
harbour frontage? And Max is encouraging him? And they’re talking about buying a
boat.’

‘A really good boat,’ said Max. ‘To go with the excellently
located house.’

‘Logan, you didn’t tell me this,’ said his mother.

‘But I would have,’ he countered smoothly. ‘I was just waiting
for the half-price coat sale to end.’

‘Excuses, excuses,’ said Evie. ‘Logan, you need a
high-maintenance harbourside mansion all to yourself about as much as I need a
five-thousand-dollar coat.’

‘Well, maybe I just want one.’ Logan smiled, slow and sure.
‘You want me to buy you a coat while I’m at it? Half price.’

Sneaky man. ‘No. No one’s buying me a coat. I have a coat and
it works just fine.’

‘What about jewellery?’ asked Caroline. ‘Can someone buy you
that? Brand-new? No memories attached? Because I have. Bought you something, I
mean.’

‘Really?’ Evie eyed Caroline warily. The last time Caroline had
tried to give Evie jewellery things hadn’t gone well for them.

‘Now you’re scaring her,’ said Max.

‘There’s nothing to be scared of,’ said Caroline. ‘No ulterior
motive whatsoever, beyond a thank you for looking after my house and my garden
while I was unwell. It’s just a little gift.’

Evie looked to Logan and he quirked his eyebrow as if to say
why not?

‘Come,’ coaxed Caroline and handed a bunch of table napkins to
Max. ‘It’s in my room. We’ll do it now. It’ll only take a moment.’

‘Little tip for you, Evie,’ murmured Max, thoroughly amused.
‘We’re twenty-two storeys up. If you don’t like it and toss it out the window,
it’s gone.’

‘I’m not
that
uncivilised.’

And then she caught Logan’s darkly amused gaze once more and
his look said, yes, yes, she was. And he liked her that way.

‘I can behave,’ she murmured on her way past Logan, and he
caught her hand and pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her temple.

‘Do I need to buy you jewellery too?’ he asked softly.

‘No. I just want your beating heart and your crooked soul.’
Evie slipped away with a smile and Logan let her go. Easy to let go these days
when she knew that come nightfall Logan would be sharing her bed and come
morning he’d be in the kitchen begging the coffee machine for coffee, thick and
black. Life these past few weeks had been rich and full and fun and Evie aimed
to keep it that way.

‘In here, Evie,’ Caroline said from her bedroom as Evie stepped
into the hallway and followed the sound of the older woman’s voice. Evie hovered
in the bedroom doorway. The apartment was far more impersonal than Caroline’s
Toorak residence, but the bedroom was still the other woman’s personal sleeping
space and Evie didn’t want to intrude, no matter how relaxed she’d grown in the
older woman’s company these past few weeks.

‘Caroline, you didn’t have to do this.’

‘I know,’ said Caroline and her eyes were bright. ‘But I wanted
to.’

‘I did very little when it came to looking after your
house.’

‘I wanted to,’ Caroline repeated firmly and held out a blue box
with a white satin ribbon. ‘And it’s not about the house, Evie. You know that.
Please. Open it.’

Evie tugged gently on the ribbon, taking her time—still wary,
just a little bit, of Caroline’s motives.

‘First time I ever met you, you and Max had a conversation
about a non-existent engagement ring that made me smile. Diamond, you said when
he asked you what it was you wanted. White. I liked your quick thinking and I
did like your style. Don’t worry,’ urged Caroline as the ribbon fell away and
Evie eyed her warily. ‘It’s not an engagement ring. That’s not for me to sort
out. This is simply about the making of new memories between us when it comes to
the giving of jewellery. New memories to replace those I’d rather not remember.
I learned this trick a long time ago and it has always stood me in good stead.
So...’ Caroline straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin, but her eyes
remained full of entreaty. ‘Let’s make a new memory, Evie. You and me.’

‘All right,’ said Evie. ‘I’m in.’

Evie lifted the lid of the box and stared down at the bangle
nestled within. Oh, boy. Platinum, Evie suspected. Platinum strands of varying
thicknesses criss-crossing over and sidling up against one another all a tangle.
In amongst the spaces between the strands sat a scattering of diamonds of all
different sizes, some of them at least a carat, some of them only a quarter of
that size. Brilliant cut, the lot of them, and there
were
a lot of them. Every last one of them a pure and blazing white.
‘Oh, boy. I am
so
in.’

‘Do you like it?’

‘Oh, yes.’ And Evie thought Caroline had excellent taste in
clothes. ‘I love it. But it’s so delicate. And...amazing.’ Expensive, was what
she wanted to say. ‘Where on earth will I wear it?’

‘Anywhere,’ coaxed Caroline. ‘Wear it with what you have on
now. Enjoy it. Take pleasure in it.’

Evie was wearing jeans and a vivid pink, fitted short-sleeved
shirt and she stifled a giggle as she fished the bangle from its box and slipped
it on and sighed with delight.

‘Yes,’ said Caroline. ‘Just like that. And I will be
content.’

* * *

‘So
show us,’ said Max when Evie and Caroline
reappeared in the living room.

Evie showed them and Logan said, ‘Like it?’ and Max rolled his
eyes.

‘It’s beautiful,’ said Evie.

‘It’s a cunning plot to get you used to luxury living and
harbourside mansions,’ said Max, and Caroline smiled and Evie figured that there
was a slim possibility Max was right. Not that she wanted to acknowledge it.

‘Hey, you’re the one who wants a really big boat.’

‘Doesn’t need to be big,’ said Max. ‘I didn’t say big. It just
has to be good.’

‘Fast,’ added Logan.

‘Fast definitely falls within the definition of good,’ said
Max.

‘Corruption is rife around here,’ said Evie.

And so was the love.

* * *

Two months later, Logan still hadn’t found himself the
perfect home. He looked at whatever homes Max flagged for him and he usually
dragged Evie along to look at them too. Invariably, the properties boasted
waterfront access and harbour bridge views, piers and boat moorings. You
know...for the yacht.

Easy to forget—when Logan was sprawled out on Evie’s sofa in
her little apartment—just how wealthy he truly was.

Not so easy when he went home hunting.

‘Why do you even need a home this big? There’s only one of
you,’ Evie grumbled as she stomped through yet another harbourside wonder. He
had a key to her apartment and a clothes rack full of his clothes in her
bedroom. If he wasn’t travelling, ten-to-one Logan could be found at her place.
‘Why not just move in with me and save yourself the trouble?’

‘Home office,’ he murmured. ‘I want one. This place has two.
And a library.’

‘Greedy.’

‘Evie, I’m working from a pile of paperwork stacked on your
desk. That’s when I haven’t left half of it at my place. We need more room.
I
need more room.’